


Simply Beautiful

by theVelveteenPlatypus



Series: The X-Clan [3]
Category: Beautiful - Monsta X (Music Video), Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Fan theory, M/M, Magic, Minor Character Death, The Clan, reference to violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-21
Updated: 2017-11-01
Packaged: 2019-01-20 12:57:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 19,900
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12433344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theVelveteenPlatypus/pseuds/theVelveteenPlatypus
Summary: The X-Clan finds the mountain clans at last, together but broken. Before they can move forward, they must take part in an ancient ritual to reaffirm the vows made to their clan and to each other...but they find an enemy in the Tiger, who will stop at nothing to get the power of the Otherworld flowers for himself.Based on the music video for The Clan 2.5 The Final Chapter: Beautiful.





	1. Prologue

Yuri pushed aside the flap of the makeshift tent she and the others had set up for the night. She inwardly sighed at the thought of packing everything up again for the next day's travels. Constant relocation was necessary during the Trials, but she looked forward to sleeping in her own bed again.

Inside the tent, she was not surprised to find Shidae waiting for her. The old shaman was a wealth of clan knowledge, and not one to abandon her teachings as they traveled. She bowed briefly in greeting before sitting cross-legged across from her mentor.

"Another lesson tonight, Shidae?"

"Of sorts," he replied casually, giving her a knowing smile. "I was wondering if you had any questions for me."

Yuri felt her cheeks redden. She had tried to keep her questions to herself during preparations for the Trials, but she should have known that her curiosity would be transparent to an intuitively observant man like Shidae.

"I have so many questions that I don't know where to begin," she admitted. "So much of what we are doing I have only read about in books. I grew up with all of the children's stories, and in my studies I have expanded my knowledge of the clans and their history— _our_ history—but all of this..." she gestured vaguely to their surroundings before dropping her hands back into her lap, her eyes lowered. "It feels like a dream."

Yuri felt Shidae's eyes on her as he waited patiently for her to gather her thoughts. She considered what little she knew, and all of the mystery surrounding the unprecedented arrival of this new clan.

"Will you tell me about them?" she asked finally. "The boys of the X-Clan, I mean. Who are they? Where did they come from? And why haven't we heard of them before now?"

Shidae considered her words. "When I first came across them, I asked myself the same questions—all questions I have yet to answer." He regarded her seriously for a moment and then clasped his hands together, leaning forward slightly to make sure he had her full attention. "Rather than dwelling on that which we do not yet understand, I believe it is time you were told the specifics of their clan dynamic. I have consulted with your father, and he agrees with me that you should be assigned a role in the overseeing of the Trials. It will be a small one, but crucial nonetheless."

Yuri froze. To play a part in the Trials would mean that she would be helping _write_ history, rather than just reading it in books. It was an incredible honor to be included. She sat with rapt attention as Shidae collected his thoughts and began.

"As I'm sure you've heard, there are only seven members of the X-Clan. An unusually small number when compared to traditional clans."

Yuri nodded, thinking of her birth clan and the vast community she grew up with. It was difficult to imagine having a family of only seven. She wondered about the bonds that would form in such a small group, whether they would differ from the ones she shared with her many clan members. With a conscious effort, she pushed her rambling thoughts aside and focused her attention back on her mentor, eager to hear more.

"Shownu is the oldest," Shidae said, "and carries the Pillar of the Hearth."

"He is the one who lost himself?" Yuri couldn't help interrupting.

"Yes," Shidae confirmed solemnly. "But I believe, given the opportunity, he can find his way back to his family."

Yuri was skeptical, but stayed silent.

"The youngest, Changkyun, carries the Mirror."

Yuri looked at Shidae in amazement. "That is _very_ rare, for the youngest to be chosen by the Mirror. Of all the clans, only—"

"He has the makings of a great shaman," Shidae said pointedly. "Age plays no role in determining strength of spirit. You of all people should know that, Yuri."

"Of course, Shidae," she said, chastised. Shidae quirked a smile at her and continued.

"Hyungwon carries the Page and his significant other, Minhyuk, carries the Ink. Their bond was incredibly strong even before completing the Kiform ritual, and they are now undoubtedly an even more formidable pair." He laughed softly. "You will like them."

Yuri listened with fascination as Shidae ticked off the remaining boys on his fingers. "Jooheon of course carries the Coin as his Pillar, followed by Kihyun with the Crown, and Wonho with the Key." He paused for a moment, staring at his hands. "It still amazes me that these seven boys found each other, and that every one of them has the ability to support their respective Pillars. They are an exceptional family, steadfast brothers even before forging their forever-bonds."

Leaning back in his chair, Shidae sighed thoughtfully.

When his silence stretched on, Yuri ventured, "The Trials... do you think these boys can overcome them? Between the rumors and what you have told me, they sound truly extraordinary—but in all of my reading, the Trials have been painted as a gauntlet that has bested many extraordinary clans. What makes you think these boys can persevere?"

Shidae smiled mysteriously, "Because I have met them."


	2. Homecoming

Jooheon raced down the sidewalk, sticking to the shadows. His family was close behind, their panting breaths barely audible for the blood pumping in his ears. He was flying.

They had pulled it off— they had managed to break into a secured hospital, find their friends, and break back out all without getting caught. It had been risky and terrifying and dangerous and _exhilarating_.

With the Rush still propelling his feet despite their exhaustion, Jooheon couldn't help but think back on the events leading to their desperate flight. Unbidden flashbacks to the memories he had relived reminded him that they had escaped a little worse for wear.

He forced his stride to lengthen and his legs to pump faster. Closing his eyes, he welcomed the jolt of adrenaline that brought him back into the Rush. He felt rather than heard his family push to match his speed.

None of them could outrun the events of the night, or the secrets and lies they carried, but for now being together again was enough. It had to be enough.

 

\---

 

Jooheon jogged to the door of the warehouse and held it open as the other boys filed wearily past him.

_Home sweet home._

Wonho took the lead and they all fell into step behind him as they made their way to the main room. Jooheon had a brief moment where he imagined them as the saddest parade ever and had to suppress a fit of wildly inappropriate giggles.

He looked up just in time to collide with Shownu's back. The other boy had frozen, staring at the giant machine Wonho had designed. It hit Jooheon again just how long they had been divided, and he tiredly wrapped his arms around Shownu from behind, resting his cheek against the boy's broad back. Shownu's hands found his own and the older boy glanced over his shoulder.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," Jooheon smiled, realizing that he actually was. "It's just good to have you back, is all."

Shownu's soft laugh rumbled through them both, "I missed you, too."

Jooheon released his hold on Shownu and stepped around him to join the others. He passed Minhyuk and Hyungwon, the two standing close together and holding hands. He ruffled Minhyuk's hair in passing and relished the burst of surprised laughter he received in reply. It was strange to be in a group of seven again, the massive room seeming much smaller than when they were only four. It was a good strange, though— crowded around the machine as they were, Jooheon found it much easier to breathe.

He walked to stand beside Changkyun, the room quieting as they each caught their breath. The stillness dragged on, lapsing into an uncomfortable silence that Jooheon hated. They should be celebrating, hugging and laughing and happy, but something had changed. _They_ had changed. Every last one of them had lost something tonight, and as much as he wished things could go back to normal, he knew it would take time to pick up all the pieces.

When he couldn't take the awkward silence anymore, he said, "Well, I think I speak for everyone when I say that it's good to have the gang all back together. Right?"

He forced a smile and looked around the room, willing someone to say something, _anything._

"Jooheon's right," Kihyun said, catching his eye. "I'm glad we're all back together."

Murmurs of agreement swept through the room and Jooheon breathed a silent sigh of relief. Minhyuk cleared his throat to catch everyone's attention.

"Can we..." he laughed nervously, running his hands through his hair, "can we have, like, a group hug or something?"

" _Hell_ yes," Wonho said immediately.

Minhyuk looped his arm through Hyungwon's and reached for Wonho, who happily bounded over and threw his arms around the other boy. Hyungwon frowned, but was quickly enveloped in another hug from Wonho. Kihyun grabbed Changkyun's hand and they both joined the fray, dragging Jooheon with them. Jooheon looked over his shoulder and saw Shownu standing away from the group uncomfortably. He extricated himself from Wonho to catch Shownu's wrist and draw the older boy into a tight hug. He stood on his tiptoes and whispered in Shownu's ear, "It isn't going to be easy, but we're going to get through this. Okay?"

"Okay," Shownu whispered gratefully, tightening his hold.

Jooheon smiled mischievously, spinning Shownu so that he was in the center of their family. "Dog pile!" he shouted, knocking Shownu to the ground and whooping as everyone piled on top of them.

 

\---

 

Jooheon sat with Wonho on his work table, watching Shownu, Minhyuk, and Hyungwon pace around Wonho's massive machine.

"Is that what we looked like when we first saw it?" Jooheon joked quietly, so that only Wonho could hear.

The other boy laughed nervously, staring at his shoes. His leg was bouncing and he was absent-mindedly twirling a pen through his fingers, the very picture of anxiety.

"Hey," Jooheon said, nudging Wonho's knee with his own. "Where are you right now?"

Wonho set the pen on the table beside him and clasped his hands in his lap. "When I started building my machine, I was so focused on getting them back that it didn't matter how it worked, just _that_ it worked. But with Shownu..." He trailed off and reached for the pen again, but seemed to decide against it and sat on his hands to keep them still. "What if there had been another way? One where we didn't have to go through all of that? I mean, having to relive our memories—"

"We got them out," Jooheon said firmly. "That's what matters. Besides, whether we like it or not, it's probably better that we know about the choices he made with Grandfather. It was hard to find out the way we did, but it's out there now so we'll deal with it. As a family."

Wonho raised an eyebrow, "Since when are you so wise?"

"Guess Changkyun is rubbing off on me."

"Well," Wonho said, hopping down from the table, "maybe you two can help get everyone up to speed. I'm too tired to try untangling it all."

Jooheon followed Wonho to the center of the room where the other boys had congregated. He maneuvered so that he was standing by Changkyun and Shownu, and by unspoken agreement they all sank to the floor.

Changkyun was the first to speak, "Now that we're back together we have to figure out what to do next. But first, we need to get everyone caught up. Wonho, can you start with your machine?"

Wonho froze, his cheeks flushing a bright pink. "Well...you've all seen it so, um..." He fidgeted with his hands and let out a shaky breath. "Basically, I built it so that we could communicate with the hospital. Through your heart monitor." He gestured towards Minhyuk and Hyungwon, who both gave him encouraging nods. "I used a fuel derived from the Otherworld flowers and it heightened our ability to find you. Well...you two, at least." Wonho trailed off awkwardly, unwilling to meet Shownu's eye.

Jooheon risked a glance at their leader. Shownu held a carefully neutral expression, the clenching of his jaw the only outward indication of his anxiety. Jooheon reached for the other boy through their bond to get a better read on him, and found...nothing. He frowned. There was _nothing_ , just a void where their leader’s energy should have been. While he puzzled it out, Shownu took a few measured breaths before motioning for Wonho to continue.

Averting his eyes again, Wonho spoke to the floor. "Ordinarily, the distance would have been too great for us to communicate. The purpose of my machine was to bridge that distance for us. But it amplified more than just our communication abilities— it amplified...everything."

Minhyuk spoke softly, but his voice carried through the silent room. "So that's why we saw...what we did?"

"I think so," Wonho's voice wavered. "I didn't know...but there was no time and so I _had_ to use it." He surveyed the room with tears in his eyes, "Maybe there was another way, one that didn't make us relive our memories, but I just couldn't find it in time. We had to get you out and I'm so _sorry_."

Wonho began sobbing quietly, and Minhyuk scooted himself and Hyungwon closer so that he could link an arm supportively through Wonho's.

Jooheon swallowed hard, refusing to cry. "You couldn't have known," he told Wonho, willing the other boy to look at him. "We got them out, against all odds, and we would still be divided if not for your machine. You were _brilliant_ , Wonho."

Everyone murmured their agreement and Wonho sniffed, pulling himself together and swiping at his eyes. He gave them a tentative smile and was still hiccuping occasionally, but he met Jooheon's stare and nodded his thanks. Jooheon grinned back at him, hoping that Wonho would believe his words, given time.

Next to Jooheon, Shownu cleared his throat uncomfortably, "My turn."

 

\---

 

Jooheon stared at the ceiling, listening to the soft snores of his family as they took a well-deserved nap. Shownu had told them everything, admitting he knew it was wrong to try reviving Grandfather but that his desperation had overruled common sense. He had Gone Bad. It was clearly painful for him to rehash the memory, but Jooheon was proud of their leader for doing it anyway. That confession had dredged up the guilt Jooheon felt about his dealings with the Tiger, but he had quickly forced it back down. It was selfish of him to expect honesty without giving it in return, but for now his guilt and shame would remain his alone.

After everyone had shared their stories— Minhyuk's and Hyungwon's time in the hospital, Kihyun's errands for the Tiger to gain them access to the Otherworld flowers, Changkyun's discovery of the game that had led to the completion of Wonho's machine— it had been decided that they would return to the mountains and resume their search for the clans. Having a purpose had raised their spirits, and preparations would begin as soon as they had rested up. With luck, they would be leaving this warehouse and its awful memories behind in about eight hours.

Restless but determined to sleep, Jooheon rolled onto his side. Shownu was next to him, one arm behind his head and the other across his chest. His eyes were closed but Jooheon knew he was awake from the sound of his breathing. He hesitated only a moment before burrowing himself under Shownu's arm to rest his head on the older boy's shoulder. Without opening his eyes, Shownu adjusted his arm to better accommodate Jooheon's body, and he sighed contentedly.

Jooheon took comfort from Shownu's steady warmth and rhythmic breathing. He rested a hand gently on Shownu's chest and drifted into a peaceful sleep.


	3. Intercepted

Kihyun had zoned out during their trek into the mountains and so it took him a moment to register Changkyun's voice.

"Huh? Sorry, I was spacing out."

"I could tell," Changkyun replied, regarding him with a mix of amusement and worry. "Can we talk for a second?"

Kihyun blinked, "Of course."

They dropped back a bit for some privacy, and when Jooheon shot him a questioning look he nodded to let him know they were fine. Shrugging good-naturedly, Jooheon continued on with the group to give them some space.

When they were out of earshot, Kihyun turned to Changkyun. "What's up? Is everything okay?"

"Yeah. Everything is fine," he said, smiling in a way that made Kihyun's stomach somersault. "It's just...how are you? We haven't had a chance to talk since before all the chaos of the breakout. I — I miss you, is all."

Kihyun reached out to take Changkyun's hand, "I miss you, too. Just think, once we reach the mountain clans and we're safe, we'll have all the time in the world to be together. No one will have to miss anyone ever again."

Changkyun laughed, "There's the optimist I fell in love wi — " he stopped, turning a very cute, if alarming, shade of red.

Kihyun beamed. "I love you, too. And yes, I mean in  _ that _ way," he added, answering the question that was plainly written across the other boy's face. Changkyun could be subtle, but not with Kihyun.

"Really?"

"Yes, really. I've been in love with you for a very long time, you know."

"Really?"

"Stop that," Kihyun teased. He bumped Changkyun's shoulder gently without releasing his hand. "Did you really not know?"

"I mean, I had hoped, but...I was scared to let myself believe it," he admitted.

Kihyun felt himself frown, "Why?"

Changkyun gripped his hand tighter, "Everything I've ever cared about,  _ truly _ cared about, has always been taken from me." The other boy sighed and it broke Kihyun's heart a little. "I just stopped letting myself care too deeply about any one thing. But you..." Changkyun smiled self-consciously, "I just can't help it with you."

"Is it my winning smile and charming personality?" Kihyun joked.

"Yes," he said seriously. "It's everything about you. Everything. And that scares the hell out of me. I don't want to lose you, Kihyun. I don't think I could — "

"Hey," Kihyun stopped, pulling the other boy close and speaking firmly. "You're not going to lose me. Ever. Okay? Even when you're sick of me, I'll still be there. For as long as you'll have me."

Changkyun hesitated and Kihyun could see him fighting against all of the past hurts that had made him believe he could never love or be loved. It made him angry, but even more it made him determined to prove Changkyun wrong.

"Do you promise?" Changkyun asked quietly, sounding so young and so vulnerable that Kihyun had to blink back tears.

As an answer, Kihyun leaned in and kissed him. His mouth was soft and hesitant, but when Kihyun ran his hand up Changkyun's neck and his fingers threaded through his hair, their kiss deepened into one of longing and hope. It said,  _ I'm here _ and  _ I trust you _ and, most importantly,  _ I love you _ .

They separated, breathing heavily, and Kihyun wrapped his arms around Changkyun's chest, hooking his chin over the other boy's shoulder.

"I promise."

They held hands and began walking again to catch up with the others. Eventually, they found their group gathered in the shade of a rock formation to rest. They were passing around bottles of water from Shownu's pack and Kihyun accepted one gratefully, glad for a respite from the heat.

"Five more minutes and I think we should get going," Shownu said. "I think another half hour will put us close to Shidae's house. Then we can have some lunch and begin our search for the mountain clans — "

"That won't be necessary." A tall man followed by a silent group of strangers stepped gracefully out from behind the rock formation. The man spread his hands and smiled, "For it seems you have already found us."

 

\---

 

His name was Dongrim, a messenger from the mountain clans sent to find them.

Kihyun sat with Changkyun, their family forming half of a circle completed by members of the mountain clans.  _ We found them _ , Kihyun thought excitedly.  _ They're real _ .

"You're crushing my fingers, dear," Changkyun whispered from his side.

He relaxed his grip with a sheepish smile. "Sorry."

Dongrim spoke at last, "X-Clan, we are pleased to have finally found you."

"We're glad to meet you," Shownu replied on their behalf. "But how did you find us?"

"We have heard much about you," Dongrim said with a smile, "and your questions will be answered in time. However, there is an important matter we must discuss — Shownu, we have been made aware of your...situation."

Shownu blanched and Kihyun prickled defensively. Changkyun gripped his hand in warning, and he felt the other boys shifting uncomfortably, all feeling defensive of their leader.

Dongrim obviously sensed this, and he raised his hands in a soothing gesture. "I have reason to believe that yours were extenuating circumstances, and that having Gone Bad is not a reflection of your character. You have nothing to fear from us, and there is no threat of prosecution or judgment from us or the other clans. That being said, precautions must be taken before you are welcomed into our ranks. There is a ritual through which your clan may be cleansed--"

"Wait, you can  _ reverse _ it?"

Kihyun's jaw dropped. He looked at Changkyun and the other boys, all of them looking as shocked as he felt.

Dongrim hesitated. "In theory, yes. But the ritual has not been attempted in many generations."

"Sounds promising," Jooheon muttered.

Shownu shot Jooheon a warning look. " _ Anything _ sounds promising. Dongrim, what would we have to do?"

"They are called the Trials," Dongrim said with gravity, "made up of a series of tests, designed to reaffirm the vows you took during your first Kiform ritual and clear the pathways of your forever-bonds. Through this ritual, you will emerge cleansed and strengthened as both individuals and as a clan."

Kihyun felt dizzy with the implications of the Trials. They could join the mountain clans, stop running and be a real family again.

Shownu interrupted Dongrim politely, "May I have a moment to speak with my...um, my clan?"

"Of course."

Kihyun leapt to his feet, dragging Changkyun behind him, and they all walked just out of earshot.

"Okay, everyone," Shownu said breathlessly. "Are we up for this? I know that it's been crazy and we're tired — "

"Shownu?" Minhyuk said. "Stop being stupid, okay? Of course we're in. Right, guys?"

Everyone nodded enthusiastically and Shownu visibly relaxed. He grinned, "I was hoping you would say that. Alright, so whatever these Trials are, if we can prepare — "

Shownu froze, a dart protruding from the side of his neck. Kihyun had enough time to see a peculiar shade of purple liquid inside the small vial before Changkyun tackled him to the ground. He heard Minhyuk scream as Shownu collapsed, followed by the soft  _ whoosh _ of more darts. Dongrim and the other clan members raced towards them, half of them speeding past to take on their attackers and the other half dragging them away from the unknown assailants. Changkyun grunted when a dart caught him in the neck and Kihyun gripped his shoulders, screaming his name in terror. Close up, Kihyun could see a small plunger in the dart depressing that strange purple liquid into Changkyun's neck and the other boy fell unconscious on top of him. 

Kihyun felt arms grab him and began dragging him backwards and he screamed again before realizing it was a clan member, the one named Siyoung.

"Don't leave him!" Kihyun screamed, fighting to catch Changkyun's shirt. 

"We won't leave him," Siyoung promised. But we need to — "

Kihyun felt a small prick in his thigh and he knew he had been struck with a dart. His vision begin to blur and his arms and legs went limp. His last thought before blacking out completely was that he remembered where he had seen that specific shade of purple before.

The strange flowers from the warehouse, the ones that resembled the Otherworld flowers but had a wrongness about them...the Tiger's flowers.


	4. Imposter

The Tiger sat cross-legged in his tent, calmly crushing dried Aether bloom petals into a fine powder. He carefully funneled the powder into a vial of water, replacing the stopper and shaking the mixture until it was fully combined.

Holding the vial up to the lamp light, he felt his mouth curl into a smile. All of his planning and patience was finally being rewarded — the X-Clan and their mountain friends would have had just enough time to discuss the mysterious Trials before his men caught up with them, and it would be fascinating to witness the ritual first-hand.

Trembling with anticipation, the Tiger raised the vial in a toast to the fates who smiled upon him and his impending success.

_ Good things come to those who wait _ , he thought proudly, and he downed the contents of the vial. His vision faded and his limbs grew heavy. The time had come for him to claim his prize.


	5. The Key

Wonho woke with a start, an overhead light momentarily blinding him. He sat up, rubbing at his eyes until they cleared and looked around.

"What the...?" His words trailed off as he tried to make sense of his surroundings.

He was sitting on the patterned tile floor of what looked like an old-fashioned mail room, green mailboxes trimmed with gold lined the walls and a there was a pillar centered in the room. A door was set into one of the walls and he made his way over to inspect it. There was no handle or lock that he could see so it was more of a window than a door, the single pane of glass giving him a view of a blindingly white hallway on the other side. There was a small slot above the glass, but it was too high and too small for it to be of much use. As far as he could tell from his limited view, the hallway was featureless except for a similar pane of glass directly opposite his own, dark inside and with what looked like a handle situated on the right side. So they _were_ doors, as he first suspected. But that begged the question... how did he get his open?

Knowing that there was a way out, even if he hadn't discovered it yet, helped ease the claustrophobia gnawing at his stomach. Still, he couldn't shake the feeling of being in a cage, on display for whoever had access to the hallway.

Wonho decided to explore the room, figuring that if anything it would take his mind off the confinement. After only a few minutes, he found a set of keys on one of the counters running along the walls. Two small gold keys, one engraved with the number 7 and the other one blank, were fastened to a seamless ring and caught the light when he picked them up.

The mailboxes were numbered and he easily found the one marked with a seven on the front face of the pillar. The first key slid easily into the lock and he swung the door open to find a folded piece of paper inside. Pulling it out and grabbing his keys, he unfolded the paper and examined it curiously.

At first glance it seemed to be a blank piece of paper, and though Wonho knew it couldn't be _just_ a piece of paper, he couldn't find anything to prove otherwise. He flipped it over, held it up to the light, ran his fingers across every inch-- but the more he searched, the more ordinary the paper seemed to become.

Out of ideas, Wonho turned the sheet back over and almost dropped it as a cursive script appeared on the page.

 

_Hello, Wonho._

 

"The letter knows my name," he said to the empty room. "It knows my name. Okay. Good. That's... that's fine." Even as he tried to wrap his mind around words writing themselves onto paper, more text appeared.

 

_My name is Yuri and I will be overseeing your clan's Trials. As the Key, you are the first to be tested and will be responsible for guiding your clan members through the ritual until it reaches completion._

 

He stared blankly at the page. Trials? The ones Dongrim told them about? He studied the letter, willing it to give him more information, but also dreading what that information might mean for him and his family. As he waited, his mind began making connections. The letter combined with the strange mail room led him to believe he was on the Kiform plane, but the revelation only made his confusion escalate, his thoughts quickly spiraling into panic. He thought the Trials were going to be in the real world, where he could keep an eye on the others and they could prepare. The bitter reality of his family’s situation became apparent and Wonho fought to keep his composure. They were separated from each other. Again.

He eyed the paper warily. No matter how much he despised his situation and distrusted the mysterious letter, this girl might know where the rest of his family was. He looked around the room for something to write with, figuring that if he wrote a reply his words would appear for her in the same fashion, but there was nothing for him to use that he could see. He stood, scouring the counters and drawers, but he came up empty.

"There's nothing to write with in a fucking _mail room_?" Wonho muttered under his breath. He huffed and turned away from the rows of mailboxes. What good was a magical letter if it only worked one way?

He sat back down, smoothing the paper across his lap as he tried to think. He wished Changkyun were with him— their youngest was good with puzzles and would know what to do. He thumped the back of his head lightly against the wall behind him, willing himself to focus.

"Where is everybody?" He whispered to himself, feeling very alone.

He glanced back down at the letter and was surprised to find the question _Where is everybody?_ scrawled across the page in his handwriting, a reply already forming underneath.

 

_Your clan members are awaiting their Trials nearby. Upon the completion of one, the next test may begin._

 

Well, it was progress. Kind of. Wonho ran his fingers through his hair in frustration at the non-answer. It felt like he was talking to a textbook, the formal words and indirect phrasing infuriating and massively unhelpful. He pushed himself to his feet, holding the letter at his side, and meandered back to the door. The pristine white hallway was still there, and the door across from his remained dark. Was one of his friends inside a room like this one on the other side of that door?

Frowning at the letter in his hand, he spoke very clearly and concentrated on making his words appear as they did before.

"If we pass the Trials, do we get out of here?"

His handwriting crossed the page again, and a response quickly followed.

 

_Yes._

 

It was a straightforward answer, finally, but the small victory did nothing to comfort him. Wonho closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths before forming his reply. He remembered the vow he made back in the warehouse, what seemed like years ago: _When we are all together again, I will do everything in my power to keep us that way, no matter the cost._

It was time to fulfill his promise, and he would face whatever costs these Trials would bring. If it brought his family back together, he could take it.

_Bring it on,_ he thought to himself.

Outloud, his answer rang clearly through the room. "Tell me what I have to do."

 

\---

 

"This is impossible," Wonho muttered to himself, staring at the rows of mailboxes.

He spun the keyring around his finger, the keys jangling quietly. After accepting his Trial, the conversation with Yuri was replaced by a riddle and he had been fighting with it ever since.

He pulled the letter from his pocket, unfolding it to read his instructions again.

  


_All locks require keys_

_And this Trial is no exception_

_Your answer lies inside_

_So pay very close attention_

 

_To cleanse this clan of wrongdoing_

_An answer is required_

_To reaffirm your vows_

_And to purge what has been mired._

 

_So look inside yourself,_

_You have the key you need_

_To unlock the second Trial_

_And let the ritual proceed._

  
  


Wonho glared at the paper, ignoring the urge to tear it to shreds and trying to think. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, deciding that he needed to take a step back and approach this task the same way as he had with his machine.

_Start with the facts,_ he told himself sternly, pocketing the letter so his hands were free. The blank key fit the locks on all of the mailboxes, but every single one of them was empty. He had checked. Twice.

"All locks require keys, and this Trial is no exception," he recited aloud, hoping that he might find a different meaning in the words when they were spoken. "Your answer lies inside, so pay very close attention. I _am_ paying attention, dammit. Inside what? One of the boxes? Myself? _What?_ "

This stanza wasn't helping, so he moved on to the next.

"To rid this clan of wrongdoing...that would be Shownu...an answer is required?" He pondered that— maybe he would have to give Yuri an answer through the letter? No, that didn't seem right.

"To reaffirm your vows, and to purge what has been mired." That's what Dongrim had said before, that the Trials would serve to reaffirm their vows. Wonho quickly moved on to the final stanza, hoping that maybe something would click.

"So look inside yourself, you have the key you need..." he glared at the keyring still looped around his finger, "to unlock the second Trial, and let the ritual proceed. _What the fuck am I supposed to do with this?_ "

Wonho threw up his hands in frustration, the cheerful jangling of the keys mocking him. He was obviously missing something. He paced and considered the Trials as a whole. The ritual was designed to test them, but the mailboxes weren't an obstacle for him because he had the key...

He stopped as a thought occurred to him. He was given _a_ key, but his Pillar was _the_ Key. He pulled out the letter again and scrutinized the words written there.

_You have the key you need._

Nothing in his instructions actually specified the small gold keys that were given to him, but if his Pillar was what he needed to pass his Trial, then that meant...

"I'm not the one who needs these," he said softly, his mind racing as the thought took hold in his mind.

He glanced back up at the mailboxes. His intuition told him that he had discovered the answer, that he had to pass on the keys to whoever needed them for the next Trial, but the only way to test his theory would take away any chance of a second attempt. He made his way around the room, studying the rows of mailboxes. There were so many and they were all identical, so there was no way of knowing for sure which one he was supposed to use. But, if his theory was correct, his Trial was about the act of giving up his only control— seeing if he would trust his intuition despite having no evidence to support his decision. It was poetic in its own way, but that didn't mean he had to like it.

Wonho spent a few more minutes mulling over his theory, hoping that his intuition would change its mind, but he still felt that his solution was the right one.

Heart pounding, he walked to the mailbox marked with the number seven— it was where he first received the keys, so it might as well be where he gave them up. With a turn of the first key, the door swung open to reveal the empty interior. He carefully placed his keys in the mailbox, very aware that there was no going back after this. If he was wrong, he wouldn't be able to open the mailbox again— but if it meant passing his Trial, then he had to take that risk.

Wonho took a shaky breath and placed a hand on the door.

"Here goes nothing," he whispered.

He closed the door, and the lock engaged with a soft click. When he turned around there was a table centered in the room, a gold tray on its surface and a single chair inviting him to sit.

Wonho took this turn of events as a good sign, and his suspicions were confirmed when he found another letter on the tray.

 

_Congratulations, Wonho. The Trial of the Key has been completed successfully._

 

He had passed. Lowering his letter, he found that a bottle of ink, a pen, and a stack of blank paper had appeared on the tray, presumably for his next set of instructions. He leaned back in his chair and sighed again. Hopefully he would be back to reality soon, where objects didn't randomly appear and disappear and he actually understood how the world worked. Another message materialized on the paper. It was Yuri again.

 

_Your Pillar alone permits outside communication and so you will be responsible for the forwarding of information you receive from me. The letters you send must perfectly mirror mine so that the Trials may proceed._

 

"So... I'm just copying down everything you say?" He watched his handwriting scrawl across the page.

 

_Exactly as I say them, yes._

 

"What's the catch?" Wonho asked, knowing that there must be one.

 

_I cannot force you to send the letters as I have asked, and you may be tempted to try helping your fellow clan members by changing or adding to what I say, but you must not deviate from my instructions else you risk corrupting the entire ritual._

 

He waited for more, but she seemed to be finished. "...That's it?"

There was a long pause before he received a reply.

 

_What do you mean?_

 

Wonho laughed despite himself. "You don't have to worry about me going off script, Yuri," he said, smiling even though she could not see him. "I trust my friends, they'll be fine without my help. But if it makes you feel better, I promise to copy down everything you send me, _exactly_ as I receive it."

He waited for a response, but when there was none he placed the letter next to the tray where he could see it clearly and reached for the first blank page.

"I'm ready," he declared for the letter, settling in for his task and feeling more optimistic than he had since first waking up in the mail room.

Wonho dipped the pen into the ink as words began appearing on the page, and began to write.


	6. The Ink

Minhyuk opened his eyes, blinking until his eyes adjusted to the dim lighting. He sat up, leaning back on his hands and rolling his neck to loosen the knots in his shoulders. He looked around, not sure of where he was.

"Ah, hell," he whispered.

The room was lit by violet lights that reflected off the dark paneled walls, and the polished floor glowed with the same strange hue. Around him stood pedestals of different heights with black, silver, and white spheres centered on their surfaces. Along the walls were a series of boxes above which small metal cones hung suspended from wires, their shiny surfaces catching the light as they swung gently back and forth. It was all very...geometrical.

He saw a door on the far wall and stood to go inspect it, his foot sending something skittering across the floor. It was a set of small gold keys, and when he knelt to pick them up he saw that one had the number seven engraved on its side and the other was blank, both linked to a keyring. He tossed them in his hand a couple of times before turning for the door again.

There was a small slot, just big enough for his hand to fit through, situated above a pane of glass. Beyond the glass he could see a white hallway and a door directly across from his.

"Well, this is strange," he told the room matter-of-factly.

There was no lock on the door that he could see, so he pocketed the keys and surveyed the room again. All of the colors were especially vibrant even in the room's low lighting, and the room itself was strange enough — based on what the other boys had told him, he guessed he was on the Kiform plane. He didn't know why or how he got here, but maybe something in the room could help him figure it out. Pacing back to the middle of the room he saw a folded piece of paper that definitely hadn't been there before, but he decided to take in stride. As he understood it, rules were a bit flexible on the Kiform plane, so he was curious but not too worried as he sat down cross-legged to examine the paper.

He unfolded it and was surprised to see Wonho's slanted handwriting centered on the page.

 

_ The second Trial begins _

_ With a quandary and a key _

_ A solution may be found _

_ Printed like a memory _

 

_ Seek the whole picture _

_ The brickwork to be laid _

_ One solution to discover _

_ One move to be made _

 

_ Your borrowed keys _

_ If you follow their lead _

_ Will show you the way _

_ To unlock Trial three. _

 

"Damn. Okay..." he muttered to himself, reading the note a few times and trying to make sense of the words written there.

Still lost, Minhyuk scooted backwards until he was sitting against one of the walls, leaning his head back and staring at the far wall. He held the letter in his lap, waiting for inspiration to strike.

"Minhyuk? Is that you?"

Minhyuk jerked his head up in surprise. "Jooheon?" He clambered to his feet, pocketing the letter as he rushed to the door. Outside, sporting his classic grin, stood Jooheon. The other boy peered through the window, looking past Minhyuk into his room.

"Where are we?" He asked, meeting Minhyuk's eyes with open curiosity.

"I'm not sure," Minhyuk replied, glad to see a familiar face. "If I had to guess, I'd say we're somewhere on the Kiform plane."

"The Kiform plane," Jooheon repeated, peering past him to look at the room again. "Any idea why?"

Minhyuk shrugged, "I got a letter that said something about the Trials. I think we're in the ritual Dongrim told us about. Do you know where everybody else is?"

"Probably in more rooms like yours," Jooheon replied nonchalantly.

"Oh." Minhyuk frowned, "Why aren't  _ you _ in a room?

"How should I know?" The other boy said, flashing another grin. "Your room looks more interesting than this hallway, though."

"Right," Minhyuk agreed distractedly, a thought nagging at the back of his mind. Every time he tried to grab hold, it slipped through his fingers like smoke. He frowned again.

"So what did your letter say?" Jooheon asked, tilting his head to the side and staring at him strangely.

Minhyuk could feel the letter folded in his pocket, but he gestured vaguely behind him and said, "I left it back there." He wasn't sure why he felt compelled to lie, but his letter felt very personal and he didn't feel right sharing it.

"Oh, okay," Jooheon said, eyes flicking past Minhyuk again to his room. "I'm going to try to find the others, but I'll be back. Maybe we can figure it out together?"

"Sure," Minhyuk replied with a shrug, turning to go.

"Wait, hang on, there's something on your door..." Jooheon trailed off, ducking out of view. 

Minhyuk raised an eyebrow as Jooheon stood again, holding something in his hand. He reached through the small slot and held out his hand, dropping a gold pocket watch so that it hung suspended from its chain. Minhyuk reached out for the watch, but Jooheon pulled it away from him.

"Just kidding," the other boy smirked, extending his hand again so that Minhyuk could take the watch. "I'll be back in a bit, best of luck." With one last grin, he walked out of view.

Minhyuk watched him go, feeling very strange. Jooheon had erratic behavior sometimes, but something was off.  _ It's probably just stress,  _ he thought to himself, pushing it out of his mind and turning his focus to the pocket watch.

 

Its plain white face was framed by gold, and it was connected to a delicate chain. A crown insignia was etched into the back of the watch and Minhyuk ran his thumb over the design thoughtfully, reminded of Kihyun and how well the other boy embodied the Crown as his Pillar. Minhyuk wished he had that same confidence in how he carried his own Pillar, the Ink. He sighed, shaking his head vigorously to clear his thoughts.

Glancing out into the hallway to make sure Jooheon hadn't come back, he wandered to the center of the room and pulled out his letter again.

 

_ The second Trial begins _

_ With a quandary and a key _

_ A solution may be found _

_ Printed like a memory _

 

Minhyuk ran his thumb over the imprint of the crown, an idea popping into his head. He had assumed that phrase "printed like a memory" had meant in writing to coincide with his Pillar, but what if it meant an  _ imprint  _ like the crown on his watch?

Running with his idea, he went to one of the boxes and knelt to study its surface more closely. In the dim light he could just make out delicate patterns etched into what he had first thought was perfectly smooth.

Minhyuk tentatively placed both hands on the box, and with a soft whisper of sound the designs spiraling across the surface deepened so that they were more pronounced, thrown into relief by the lighting. A keyhole formed in the center and Minhyuk slowly withdrew his hands, rocking back on his heels in awe. He took the keys and was delighted when the blank one fit perfectly into the slot. He turned it, and as he watched a grid of lines ran through the box, sinking until a top layer was separated into cubes with a soft popping sound. The keys vanished in a flash of white, and Minhyuk reached for one of the cubes. He was surprised when he was able to lift it from the grid and he gently rolled it around in his palm. A piece of the design was still carved into the top but the other sides remained blank.

"Huh," he muttered, overwhelmed by the strange series of events.

When he went to put it back, he saw that the other cubes were stacked next to the box's blank surface. He glanced between the cube in his hand and the ones it used to belong with and groaned.

"It's a puzzle," he whined dejectedly. "But I'm  _ bad  _ at puzzles!"

Pouting, he set his cube next to its brothers. He toyed with the idea of waiting for Jooheon to come back so he could have help, but knew that this Trial was for him alone. He pushed a few of the cubes around half-heartedly before rearranging himself so that he was sitting cross-legged again, settling in for his task. Feeling the letter in his pocket, he pulled it out and placed it next to his watch, the crown design winking in the light. 

Minhyuk had been told once that puzzles were easiest if you started around the edges, but he was pretty sure that rule only applied to normal puzzles. These blocks were all perfect cubes, with no distinctive edges to tell what piece fit with another. He examined the pieces individually and he found that each one had a pattern on only one of the sides, so he oriented them all with the design facing up. Thinking of that side as the 'top' brought the puzzle into two dimensions instead of three, so that was progress at least.

He rearranged the pieces at random, hoping an image would happen to appear, but quickly gave up when he was obviously getting nowhere. He couldn't use a process of elimination because he didn't know what he was looking for, and all of the pieces looked essentially the same — just a monochromatic criss-crossing of thick and thin lines spiraling...  _ Wait _ , he thought,  _ thick versus thin lines...maybe I only have to focus on one or the other. The thin lines could just be a background or something. Hmm... _

To clear his mind, Minhyuk closed his eyes and took a deep breath.. When he turned to face the puzzle again, his attention caught on the watch and something clicked. His mind began matching up the curves of the crown with the puzzle design...

"That's it!" He exclaimed, grabbing for the watch and holding it next to the cubes. He moved them around excitedly and sure enough the thicker lines began fitting into a mirror image of the crown engraving. As soon as he had known what he was looking for the puzzle was easy. Sticking his tongue out in concentration, he hurriedly completed the design and sat back with a grin on his face.

The grid of lines slowly knitted the pieces together until it was a solid surface again. Minhyuk looked over his handiwork, feeling very clever. He usually associated cleverness with Changkyun or Wonho, so it was a foreign feeling for him that only made him smile harder. He punched at the air, celebrating his victory, and then picked up his letter to read through it with newfound enthusiasm.

 

_ Seek the whole picture _

_ The brickwork to be laid _

_ One solution to discover _

_ One move to be made _

 

As with the puzzle, his instructions made more sense now that he understood what it had been asking him to do. All that was left was for him to make the final move.

He picked up the watch, knowing that Kihyun was up next, and rested the watch face up in the center of the puzzle, the crown on the back fitting perfectly against the design he had pieced together.

"If I can figure out a puzzle, then you can do anything," he whispered to Kihyun even though the other boy could not hear him. He sent good vibes to the watch, mentally willing his positive energy to go to Kihyun for his Trial.

Minhyuk heard a tapping on his door and whipped his head around to see Jooheon peering through the glass. He looked back and saw that the watch had disappeared, presumably heading for Kihyun the way he had received the keys. 

_ Those must have been from Wonho,  _ he thought, remembering that the other boy's Pillar was the Key. He hadn't thought about it before, but it made sense. At least, it made as much sense as anything could on the Kiform plane. Jooheon tapped on the door again and Minhyuk got to his feet so he could share the good news.

He smiled again. Two Trials down, five more to go.


	7. The Crown

Kihyun opened his eyes and groaned, his muscles stiff as if he had been holding the same position for a long time. He must have fallen asleep sitting up, and when he stretched he heard a series of pops run down his spine. Looking around, he realized that he had no idea where he was.

The bare concrete floor was lit up by light panels that ran like baseboards along the walls. The room was mostly dark otherwise which made him feel disoriented, like he was upside down. He pulled himself to his feet and reeled back when he saw where he had been sitting, leaning against a display of swords. The display ran the length of the room, and there was a circle of smaller swords set into the floor. He was surprised that he hadn't noticed either before now, but his head felt too foggy and crowded for him to think properly. He shivered. The whole setup creeped him out. He decided to have a look at the door, as much out of curiosity as to put some space between him and the weapons.

A pane of glass filled most of the door, a small slot centered on top that looked like it was open to the hallway outside. There was another door across from his, but otherwise the hallway itself was perfectly white, the bright surfaces giving him the same unnerving feeling he had gotten from the sword display. Reluctantly, Kihyun turned to survey his room again, hoping he could glean some information as to where the hell he was.

He saw a folded piece of paper on the ground where he had been sitting, and he forced himself to approach the display again. He stepped carefully around the swords on the floor, wanting nothing to do with them, and picked up the paper. He unfolded it and found that it was a letter.

 

_ The Crown follows _

_ The Ink and Key, _

_ And so begins _

_ Trial number three _

 

_ A task for which _

_ You will require _

_ A strength of heart _

_ And will of iron _

 

_ When all seems lost _

_ And hope is hollow _

_ Your task will start _

_ And the Coin will follow _

 

He recognized Wonho's handwriting, his heart sinking when he realized that he was separated from his family again. Trying to scrounge up some optimism, Kihyun reviewed the letter again, comforted by the familiarity of Wonho's slanted lettering. The language was unwieldy, but he had a feeling that these Trials were supposed to be confusing so that they would have trouble reaching the answer.

Still uncomfortable because of the display, he walked back to the door. He leaned heavily on the doorframe and rested his head on the cool glass as he tried to sort through his thoughts. There was something about the room that was disheartening, muddling his thoughts and making it hard to smile.

Kihyun took a step away from the door, looking between it and the swords centered in the room. He didn't want to be near either of them, but the room was so small that he couldn't distance himself from both at the same time. Torn, Kihyun sat down where he was and hugged his knees to his chest, burying his head in his arms. He tried to push through his dizzying thoughts to focus on the letter's instructions. Keeping his eyes closed, he breathed deeply and pretended he was back in the orphanage. He saw Grandfather and his family as they once were: together, happy, and strong. He watched Grandfather fade from the image, his heart aching for what he had lost. For what they all had lost.

Kihyun shook his head, dragging himself back to the present. He had never been able to properly mourn for Grandfather, none of them had, and he resolved to make that right— but first, they had to pass the Trials.

Taking a deep breath, he laid the letter flat on the ground and crossed his legs. When he shifted, his knee bumped into a pocket watch on the floor next to him that definitely hadn't been there before. He lifted it to eye level curiously, the watch spinning lazily on its chain. It was plain, gold with a simple white face, but what caught his attention was the elegant crown engraved on the back. Kihyun sighed, holding the watch to his chest and urging himself to pull himself together.

"What's wrong with me?" He asked the silent room. "Where is everybody?" His voice dropped to a whisper. "Why am I alone?"

Kihyun felt tears pricking at his eyes and he wanted to scream in frustration. His emotions were all over the place and he felt like crying even though he was trying to concentrate.  _ If I can pass this Trial _ , he thought,  _ then this feeling will go away. It _ has  _ to go away. _

Swiping at his eyes angrily, he read through the stanzas again.

"When all seems lost and hope is hollow," he muttered bitterly. "Check. Your task will start...but what  _ is _ my task?" He was shouting now. "How am I supposed to complete a task if I don't even know what it is?"

He crushed the paper into a ball in his hands, but hurriedly flattened it again. He was so angry and so sad but he couldn't control it long enough to do anything about it. He had gotten so good at keeping his emotions under wraps, keeping his anger and sadness to himself, but all of his defenses had simply fallen away. There was nothing between him and years of suppressed anxiety, and he felt himself begin to hyperventilate.

"I can't do this by myself," Kihyun whispered between choked breaths, hating the tears brimming in his eyes but unable to stop them. He remembered when he had first been given the Crown as his Pillar, what felt like a lifetime ago, Shidae's words echoing distantly in his mind.

 

_ "You will be giving the strength of heart to this ritual _ — _ a gift you must be careful with. It will be important for you to remember that though there is courage in optimism and looking after those you love, there is also courage in asking for help when you truly need it." _

 

At first, the memory only made Kihyun feel more miserable, but the phrasing reminded him of something the letter had said...

He lifted the letter so he could read his instructions again.

 

_ A task for which _

_ You will require _

_ A strength of heart _

_ And will of iron... _

 

Could it really be as simple as asking for help? He was alone, the feeling threatening to suffocate him, but he thought of all the times his family had come through for him despite every impossibility and he managed a small smile. He gripped the watch in his hands, winding the chain through his fingers and feeling a positive energy radiating from the symbol on the back,  _ his  _ symbol. He struggled to find the right words, but he couldn't think of anything that would match the ceremony of the letter. He decided that candor would have to suffice.

"I can't complete my Trial alone," he said haltingly, feeling ridiculous talking to an empty room but forcing himself to say the words. "I... I need help."

Nothing happened, and Kihyun felt his frown returning until he saw more of Wonho's handwriting scrawl across his letter, forming words that lifted his spirits.

 

_ And you shall have it. _

 

With a musical sound, a silver coin fell by his feet. He picked it up and the temperature in the room seemed to rise a few degrees as the heavy curtain of depression lifted from his shoulders. Kihyun smiled genuinely, a burst of bright laughter escaping him in relief. Feeling more like himself than he had since waking up in his room, he saw another block of text writing itself at the bottom of his letter.

 

_ The Trial of the Crown has been completed successfully. _

 

He smiled at Wonho's handwriting. "Man, I miss you guys," he said softly, his optimism returning now that he had escaped the oppressive weight of his Trial. "But we'll be together again soon, I know it." Kihyun felt the truth in his words and held up the coin in his palm. "Alright, Jooheon," he said clearly, hoping the other boy would find strength from his Pillar the way he himself finally had. "You're up."

Kihyun flipped the coin into the air, a smile still on his face. It caught the light as it spun, flashing brightly, then disappeared.


	8. The Coin

Wonho paced the mail room nervously, wondering how his family was faring with their Trials. Yuri was being maddeningly vague, refusing to give him any important details about the ritual's progress. He had been questioning her relentlessly, checking the letter every few seconds for her responses and desperate for news of any kind.

"Can you at least tell me what Trial we're on?" He asked frustratedly. "That can't hurt anything, can it?"

 

_ I am trying to find _

 

Her sentence cut off abruptly and Wonho froze, willing more words to appear. Taking a breath for a renewed tirade, her handwriting scrawled across the page.

 

_ The third Trial has been completed successfully. _

 

Wonho whooped, dancing through the room and laughing. "Three down! Yes!"

"Wonho?" Came a voice from the hallway.

Wonho whipped around and laughed again when he saw Jooheon on the other side of his door.

"Jooheon!" He grinned, jogging to the door to greet his friend.

"I was wondering where you were," Jooheon said, returning his grin. "What's got you so excited?"

"The third Trial just finished," he crowed excitedly. "We've only got four more left!"

"That's great!" The other boy said, his eyes sparkling. "Wait— how do you know? Was it your Trial?"

"No, but I've been talking to someone back in the real world. She's overseeing the Trials and with this letter we can talk back and forth." He lifted the letter and Jooheon's eyes immediately fixed on the paper.

"That's really cool," he said, giving Wonho a blank smile without looking away from the paper. "Can I see it? You can just hand it through there," he pointed at the slot above Wonho's door.

Something about the request didn't feel right to Wonho, but he was so relieved to not be alone anymore that he brushed the thought aside and pushed the letter through the slot. Jooheon snatched it greedily, eyes quickly scanning the page. He frowned, holding the letter close to his face.

“What?” he growled, squinting his eyes. “This is… No. NO!”

Wonho shrank back from the glass, not understanding his friend's reaction.

"Jooheon?" Wonho asked uncertainly. "Jooheon, what's wrong? What's going on?"

"This is  _ impossible _ !" Jooheon hissed, his face contorted with fury. The other boy turned to Wonho, his eyes flashing dangerously. "Tell me what it says."

Wonho hesitated, confused and afraid, and started violently when Jooheon slammed the letter against the glass and screamed, " _ What does it say?! _ "

"Calm down!" Wonho yelled back, raising his hands in a soothing gesture and suddenly very glad that they were separated by the glass. "What's  _ wrong _ with you?"

"I can't understand the letter, that's what's wrong! Why would—" Jooheon frowned, "unless..." He looked at the letter again and then back at Wonho, his face twisting into an expression of pure rage as he shrieked, "HE CAN'T  _ READ _ ?!"

For a split second, the image of Jooheon flickered to reveal a man, tall and slender with sharp features made more extreme by his anger, before Jooheon came back into focus.

Wonho's eyes widened, giving away what he had seen, and Jooheon's face broke into a feral grin devoid of humor. He took a slow breath before straightening, smoothing down the front of his coat.

"I wish we were officially meeting under different circumstances, Wonho." He said, letting the image of Jooheon flicker again and making Wonho's head spin. The stranger had regained his composure so quickly after his outburst moments ago that it stunned Wonho into silence, and before he could react the man continued smoothly, "I am called the Tiger and I am...how can I put this delicately,  _ borrowing  _ Jooheon's presence on this 'Kiform plane' of yours. It is truly unfortunate that your friend is illiterate, but all the same... I'll hang onto this, if you don't mind," he finished silkily, the tone sounding strange in Jooheon's voice, and gave a salute with the letter.

Before Wonho could protest, the Tiger spun on his heel and walked away with clipped strides, taking their only communication to the outside world with him.

 

\---

 

Wonho sat at the desk in the mail room, arms crossed and his right knee bouncing restlessly. He wasn't sure how long he had been sitting there, playing his interaction with Jooheon over and over in his mind.  _ The Tiger,  _ he told himself sternly.  _ Not Jooheon. _

Leaning forward, he rested his head in his hands trying to figure out his next move. He had lost his connection with Yuri, and with it any hope of knowing how the Trials were progressing, and now they had a pissed off psychopath wandering around masquerading as Jooheon.

"Fuck," Wonho muttered.

He wished there was a way for him to warn the other boys, but he was stuck in this room and had no way to reach them. He lifted his head and stared at the ink and small stack of paper still on the tray where he had left them, an idea occurring to him. Straightening, he pulled the tray towards him and tentatively reached for the pen. His hand stopped a few inches away as his mind worked. Yuri had been adamant that he couldn't help his clan members with their Trials, but could he send them each a letter telling them about Jooheon? He technically wouldn't be giving them help with their tasks, and he wondered if a warning note qualified as some kind of loophole. He went back through all of his conversations with Yuri and he couldn't think of anything that would explicitly prevent him from sending a letter as long as it didn't interfere with the ritual.

In the end, his conscience overruled his misgivings and he pulled five papers from the pile. After a moment's hesitation, he pulled a sixth— he had no idea where the real Jooheon was, but maybe the letter could find it's way to him.

Writing hurriedly, he completed all six copies of his warning in a few short minutes. Wonho folded up the letters and carefully printed the names of the other boys on the outside. He stacked them and closed his eyes, imagining the letters being delivered to their intended recipients as vividly as he could and hoping he was doing the right thing. When he opened his eyes, they had gone.

He exhaled shakily. "I can't believe that worked," he confessed to the empty room.

Pushing back from the desk, he was half out of the chair when a new letter appeared, making him fall clumsily back down. His name was printed on the outside in Yuri's cursive lettering and he grabbed for the paper like it was a lifeline.

 

_ What is going on? Jooheon got a letter from you saying that a tiger is on the 'Kiform plane' with you pretending to be him and that he should be careful, but he is too upset to explain to me what that means. Are you in danger? _

 

Wonho let out a choked laugh, relieved that he still had a line of communication with Yuri and that his letter had made it to the real Jooheon. After he calmed down a bit he spoke fast, frustration coloring his words.

"Is Jooheon okay? Why is he with you? And more importantly, why didn't you  _ tell me _ he was with you?!"

 

_ I thought you knew. He was blocked from the ritual for some reason so he is with me. His Trial had just concluded when we received your letter _ — _ he asked me to read it aloud and then he threw a fit and has not made sense since then. What is a 'Kiform plane'? Why is there a tiger with you? And how is it pretending to be Jooheon? _

 

Wonho could only imagine the confused look on Yuri's face as she asked her questions and he couldn't help but laugh at her misinterpretation.

"Let me talk to him," he said.

 

_ He says that I will have to write for him. _

 

"That's fine," Wonho agreed, anxious to talk with his friend and knowing that Jooheon would actually give him straight answers.

 

_ Hello, what is going on? _

 

Wonho cocked his head at the formal language, "Um... Jooheon?"

 

_ I am not comfortable with his language. _

 

"Good grief," Wonho muttered. "Okay. Yuri, do you remember how you asked me to copy down what you said for the first series of letters,  _ exactly  _ as you said them?"

 

_ Of course I remember. _

 

Feeling his temper rise, he said as calmly as he could, "Could you  _ please  _ do the same for me? I need to talk to Jooheon and it would really help if I could actually hear what he was saying instead of your censored version."

 

_ Fine. I will dictate as accurately as I am able. _

 

"Thank you."

 

_ Hey, it's me _ — _ what in the actual hell is going on? _

 

"Are you okay?" Wonho blurted, relieved to finally be talking to his friend.

 

_ I'm fine. I'm pissed that I'm not there with you guys, but I'm fine. Has Yuri been avoiding your questions, too? No offense, but you're kind of getting on my nerves. Did you write that? Why _ —  _ oh my god, Wonho please come back so I can have real human interaction. _

 

Wonho laughed, wishing that Jooheon was with him. Or, even more, that he was out there with Jooheon. The reminder of his confinement sobered Wonho and he took a deep, calming breath.

"Jooheon, I kind of remember Kihyun mentioning the Tiger, but who is he? You should have seen him— he was terrifying."

There was a pause and then,

 

_ I've dealt with the tiger before. No, that's his name, Yuri. Of course there's not an actual tiger. Whatever. Look, I don't know how he got onto the Kiform plane with you guys, but he's bad news. _

 

"You... know him?" Wonho asked incredulously.

 

_ Kind of. It's hard to explain. _

 

"Of course it is," Wonho muttered. "Well whoever he is, he's pissed. I accidentally gave him my other letter," he admitted, feeling color rising to his cheeks. "I thought he was you, but I should have known something was off, and then he couldn't read the letter and freaked out. He must have been distracted or something because I saw what he actually looks like for a split second, but now he knows that I know..." He trailed off, angry with himself for not recognizing the Tiger for what he was— an imposter. There was a long pause before he received Jooheon's reply.

 

_ He couldn't read the letter? _

 

"Nope," Wonho said wearily, forcing his guilt to the back of his mind.

 

_ Wonho, I can't read. _

 

"Ah. That would do it." Wonho had guessed that the other boy had trouble reading for a while now, but hadn't wanted to bring it up. He was glad that Jooheon didn't have to keep that secret from him anymore, even if it hadn't been by choice. "Why didn't you tell us?"

 

_ Changkyun knows, but it just never seemed like a good time to tell you guys. So, um... better late than never, I guess? _

 

Wonho smiled and repeated, "Better late than never. I'm glad you told me, Jooheon."

 

_ Me too. Now what are we going to do about the Tiger? Do we have a plan? _

 

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Wonho wracked his brain for anything even resembling a plan but there was nothing.

"For now we just have to let the ritual run its course. We've got, what, three left?"

 

_ That's what Yuri says. _

 

"Over halfway, then," Wonho said thoughtfully. "Okay, Yuri? I need you to answer now— what happens when the ritual is over?"

 

_ If the ritual is completed successfully, your clan will emerge cleansed and with your vows renewed. _

 

Wonho blinked, "Cleansed?"

 

_ Yes. The Trials are a purification process attempted when a clan has lost its way. _

 

"I don't like any part of that sentence," Wonho said tiredly. "I don't suppose  _ you  _ have any ideas?"

There was a long pause before she replied,

_ I have a theory, but I am not confident in its accuracy or success. _

 

"Better than nothing," Wonho replied, standing up so he could pace. "Let's hear this theory of yours."


	9. The Page

Hyungwon opened his eyes, blinking to clear his vision. He was laying on his back and tried to sit up, but collapsed back down when his hands slid through... sand? He scrabbled clumsily until he was propped on his elbows, staring blankly at his surroundings as he tried to make sense of them.

There were prismatic blocks everywhere he looked, glowing purple and blue and gold in a shifting pattern. The white sand picked up the colors and he felt kind of like he was inside the northern lights. Out of habit, he reached out with his energy for Minhyuk and had a brief moment of panic when he couldn't feel anything. He cast his energy further until he finally felt a soft glow that meant the other boy was close by. A sigh of relief escaped his lips even as he was hit with a wave of hopelessness. They had been reunited at the hospital only to be separated again, and he couldn't help but be bitter— would they ever catch a break?

Hyungwon bit back his disappointment and stood, careful of the shifting sand underfoot. A stack of papers caught his eye from where it sat on one of the prismatic blocks scattered through the room. He made his way over to it, scooping up the pages and sitting heavily in their place. He arched his back in a stretch, easing his cramping muscles and shaking away the last of his grogginess. He unfolded the papers and found that they were two letters, one bearing his name and the other...

"The Page," he whispered, running his fingers delicately over his Pillar's title. He looked between his two letters and decided to open the one with his name first, cautiously beginning to read.

 

_ Hyungwon, _

_ We're on the Kiform plane, in the Trials Dongrim told us about. I don't know how we got here, but I think the only way out is to pass our individual tests. I finished mine and as of writing this, the first four have been completed. Once all seven have been passed, then we should be able to go back to the real world and be back together again _ — _ for good, this time _ .

 

Hyungwon's heart leapt, but he tamped down the feeling as quickly as it had appeared. He couldn't bear any more false hope. If they made it through these Trials and he was holding Minhyuk's hand again... that's when he would let himself hope for a future. He kept reading.

 

_ Only six of us are actually on the Kiform plane. I've seen Jooheon here, and you will too, but it's not actually him _ — _ it's the Tiger  _ _ pretending _ _ to be him and he is seriously pissed off that I figured it out, so be careful. I don't know how or why he's here, but he's prowling through the hallway that connects our rooms and from our brief encounter I know for a fact that he's a psychopathic asshole with an agenda. _

 

Hyungwon couldn't help but smile despite the implication of what Wonho had written. He could picture the other boy scribbling furiously, probably swearing out loud as he wrote.

 

_ I have a line of communication with a girl from the mountain clans, and even though she's a pain in the ass she's helped me establish a basic understanding of our situation. With my Pillar, I can send these letters to all of you, but of course you can't send anything back. That would be too easy. _

_ In the meantime, good luck with your Trials and we'll be together again soon. _

_ I promise. _

 

— _ Wonho _

 

Hyungwon set Wonho's letter down carefully, trying to process. He started with the facts.

They were on the Kiform plane, separated and within an unfamiliar ritual. Hyungwon wasn't sure what to make of their situation, but he was nonetheless comforted by the knowledge that they were still connected by their energy bonds. They were stronger together, even if they were physically apart. Their escape from the hospital was proof of that.

This stranger, though— the Tiger— sent a spiral of unease wrapping through him. He remembered the name mentioned when they had first escaped the hospital, but he had been so overwhelmed that he hadn't really absorbed much more than that. Wonho had never been one to scare easily, but even in writing Hyungwon could tell that his friend was rattled. He folded the paper carefully and slid it underneath the second letter, the one addressed to him through his Pillar. Taking a deep breath, he opened the letter to read.

 

_ For the fifth Trial of seven _

_ The mirror must appear _

_ So that it may change hands _

_ And the Page live without fear _

 

_ Your strength lies in your silence, _

_ But your voice will be the key _

_ To understand the Page _

_ You must reclaim your right to speak _

 

_ The first task is to find _

_ Your Pillar among the rest _

_ The second is to give _

_ And then you will pass this test _

 

Hyungwon refolded the paper, sliding both letters into his pocket, and sighed. He rubbed at his eyes, the riddle of his instructions already committed to memory. Leaning down, he scooped up a handful of sand. It was incredibly fine, feeling almost soft as he let it spill between his fingers

As the last of the sand fell to the floor, a silver hand mirror appeared at his side, making him jump. Hyungwon lifted the mirror carefully, his grip delicate as if it might explode, and ran his fingers over its surface. He spun the mirror face up and cautiously peered at his reflection to find a familiar stranger peering back at him. There were the same wide eyes, full mouth, and bone structure that he recognized— but there was something haunted in his eyes now, something that he wasn't sure would ever completely go away.

As he moved to set the mirror down, his reflection rippled into another familiar face— hard eyes, a permanent scowl...  _ his father. _

Hyungwon gasped and dropped the mirror as if it had burned him. It bounced on the ground but did not break, and he couldn't help but cross his arms across his chest defensively and shrink away from the image burned into his mind. He sat like that for a few minutes, shaking at the unexpected appearance of the General and the flood of memories his face had unleashed. Hyungwon shook his head vigorously, forcing himself to sit up straight as his cheeks burned with shame. For the first time since waking up in his room, he was glad to be alone.

Hyungwon took a few calming breaths before picking up the mirror, keeping it face down. He sat like that for a while, helpless as his traitorous thoughts spiraled away from him. His father had always been a complicated presence in his life, a brutal authority with no love for his only son, and when Hyungwon had finally stood up for himself the General had slapped him in front of his friends for his disrespect.

That encounter had led him to a mirror, too. He remembered stumbling to the bathroom in the orphanage and staring down his reflection, battered and bruised from being assaulted by his father's soldiers. He had been so filled with self-loathing and shame that he had been ready to die, hypothermic and alone in that bathtub. He had only survived because Minhyuk brought him back with the Otherworld flower serum. He barely remembered waking up to find the other boy laying with him in the bathtub, but he hadn't been able to ask for any of the answers he needed because then he would have had to give answers in return. Hyungwon still felt ashamed, and had vowed to never let Minhyuk know the truth. It had looked like an accident, and he would rather Minhyuk believe his lie than admit the truth— that he was a coward. Maybe one day, when they were safe and together, he would confess to the other boy. Maybe then, he could heal.

But for that to happen, they had to get through these Trials.

Hyungwon took as deep a breath as he could, closing his eyes as he slowly exhaled. His instructions scrolled across his mind's eye, and he pushed all thoughts of the General and that horrible night to the back of his mind.

With an almost fervent dedication he read the lines over and over again, the words melding into a mantra.

 

_ The first task is to find your Pillar among the rest... _

 

_ \--- _

 

Hyungwon held the mirror in his hands, careful to keep the face of it pointed towards the floor. After reviewing his instructions, he had come up with a rough theory of what he needed to do for his Trial. When he was puzzling out the words, a phrase had sparked the memory of when he was first assigned his Pillar. Shidae had explained that he supported his friends by being a good listener, and that he let them speak their minds without fear of judgment— but what Hyungwon remembered most was what he had been told afterwards. Shidae had said, 'You must find your voice so that you may speak without fear.'

But if Hyungwon was interpreting his instructions correctly, then he was fucking terrified.

Gulping nervously, Hyungwon flipped the mirror back over and found the General still reflected there. He forced himself to hold up the mirror and face it straight on, despite wanting nothing more than to look away.

Tilting his head this way and that, he watched his father's face matching his movements. It was unnerving to study the General's face so openly and Hyungwon felt a sort of power in finally being able to meet the eyes of someone he had always cowered away from.

Hyungwon experimentally ran through different facial expressions, ending by sticking his tongue out and laughing when the reflection copied him. It was strange to see the General laughing in the mirror, a smile replacing his scowl and his eyes crinkling at the corners, and Hyungwon thought,  _ This is a father I could have loved. One who could have loved me. _

He watched his father's face fall, tears forming in his eyes, and Hyungwon realized he himself was crying softly. He knew that it was time for him to face his task, and only the hope of being with Minhyuk again gave him the strength to do it. Cradling the mirror in both hands, Hyungwon held it at face level and spoke the words he never had the strength to say before.

"You hurt me. A lot. And I have to work through that in my own time. But you have no control over my life anymore. I’m not ready to forgive you and I might never be ready, but... I’m not afraid of you.”

The General stared critically at him from the mirror but Hyungwon sat perfectly straight, keeping eye contact and boldly staring right back. After a contemplative moment, a small smile twitched at his father's mouth and the General inclined his head, acknowledging Hyungwon's words.

Hyungwon swiped his hand gently across the face of the mirror and then his father was gone, replaced by his own reflection. There was a rustling sound to his left and he looked to see a new piece of paper laying beside him. When he turned back to the mirror, his reflection winked at him of its own accord before the mirror vanished.

He had a guess for what the new piece if paper would say, but it was still a relief to read the words scrawled there in Wonho's slanted hand.

 

_ The Trial of the Page has been completed successfully. _

 

\---

 

Hyungwon heard a cheery whistling and carefully approached his room's door. Peering through the open slot above the glass, he saw Jooheon sauntering down the hallway carrying a tray.

_ It's not really Jooheon,  _ he reminded himself sternly. He stared down the stranger, trying to ignore the familiar smile he wore.

"Presents!" The Tiger sang with Jooheon's voice, arriving outside Hyungwon's room.

A sledgehammer lay diagonally across the gold tray, its harsh utility clashing with the ornate detailing on the tray.

Hyungwon raised an eyebrow, "Is this supposed to mean something to me?" His voice was dripping with contempt, but the Tiger only smirked. He set the tray down without breaking eye contact.

"Did  _ your father _ mean something to you?"

He froze, eyeing the sledgehammer more warily. Before Hyungwon could find his voice, the Tiger shrugged.

"Jooheon used a steel pipe, but I figured a sledgehammer would be easier to work with. Don't you want revenge for your father's murder?"

"I... I don't understand," Hyungwon replied. "My father died in a fire—"

"Did he?" The Tiger grinned wickedly, the look unnatural on Jooheon's face. "Let me show you..."

Before Hyungwon could react, the Tiger's eyes flashed and his vision was swallowed by black. He was assaulted by a series of images: his father dragged from a burning building. His father sitting alone in an empty room, being bound to a chair and his face covered with a cloth bag. Jooheon swinging a length of steel piping and the sickening crunch on contact...

He returned to himself and reeled away from the door, falling to his knees and breathing heavily.

"That isn't real," he gasped. "You're just trying to trick me. Jooheon would never—"

"He didn't know, if that makes you feel any better," the Tiger interrupted smoothly. "It was only your father— an honest mistake, really."

"Shut up!" Hyungwon screamed, jumping to his feet and striding stiffly to the door. "Shut  _ up _ ! Stop playing this sick game and leave us the hell alone!

"Tell me how to unlock the power of the Otherworld flowers!" The Tiger's eyes burned through Jooheon's with a manic rage, his gaze intense and feverish. "Tell me, and all of this stops!"

Hyungwon lunged at the door, slamming his fists against the glass.

A wave of shimmering blue radiated from his hands, through the door, and hit the Tiger like an invisible wall. Jooheon's body flickered out of existence for a moment and Hyungwon saw the tall, slender form of the Tiger through the illusion. The man staring back at him had dark circles beneath his crazed eyes, his skin sallow and unhealthy looking.

_ He's sick,  _ Hyungwon thought right before Jooheon's image rematerialized.

"How long do you have to live?" Hyungwon asked, pushing back pity the twisted man didn't deserve.

"Longer than you do, you insignificant  _ child, _ " the Tiger hissed, his appearance flickering again. "My patience is running thin, Hyungwon. I will find my answers, one way or another, and there's nothing you or your  _ friends, _ " he spat the word like a curse, "can do to stop me."

The Tiger stormed off, and once he was out of view Hyungwon turned away from the glass. He paced, unable to shake the Tiger's true image, and considered what he had learned.

The Tiger's motivations had finally been made clear— he believed that the Otherworld flowers had the power to cure him of his sickness. From his gaunt and hollowed look, it seemed he was running out of time. Hyungwon was familiar with the look of terminal illness from their experience with Grandfather, but this man was sick in his heart as well. The desperate hate that had burned in the Tiger's eyes would haunt Hyungwon for a long time.

Hyungwon gulped, his eyes straying to the sledgehammer and what it represented. He believed the Tiger when he said that the General was dead, but he felt oddly detached from the news. He had thought his father was dead ever since the soldier's quarters caught fire, and so to finally hear a confirmation, as hard as it was to admit it to himself, was a relief. His Trial had made it possible for him to make peace with the person who had left so many scars on his life, but now there was a new trial for him to face: Jooheon.

The Jooheon he knew could be reckless and impulsive, but never cruel. Hyungwon had to believe that his friend had no knowledge of the General's identity and that he had killed only because he had no other choice.

Hyungwon sighed tiredly. Even having made his decision, it would be difficult to face Jooheon after all of this was over. He could never forget what the Tiger had told him, he could only choose to move forward.

Laying back in the sand, Hyungwon closed his eyes. He felt more peaceful than he had in years. Before long, he slipped into a mercifully dreamless sleep.


	10. The Mirror

Changkyun woke with a start, his chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath. He had been in a terrible nightmare — he had been walking with Kihyun and then there was chaos, a dart catching in his shoulder, being dragged away...

_ That wasn't a dream _ , he finally understood.  _ It was real. _

He looked up and whipped his head around, taking in his surroundings in a desperate search for anything that proved otherwise.

The room was an antique gray, with an ornate fireplace on one side and a door on the other. There were two cabinets, but no other furniture, but what stood out the most was the fact that he was surrounded by money — coins, bills, and gold bars filled every surface and pooled on the floor around where he had first woken up. It was incredibly bizarre .

Changkyun had spent a lot of time on the Kiform plane and would recognize it anywhere. He stood and paced around the small room, looking for any indication as to why he was here. He went through the drawers of the cabinets, but they were empty except for a small book of matches. Making his way to the door, he was disappointed but not surprised to find that it could not be opened from the inside. Turning around, he saw two pieces of paper stacked neatly where he had been laying when he first woke up. He hurried over and examined them, one labeled with his name and the other with his Pillar: the Mirror. Opening the one addressed to him, he quickly scanned through the words written there. Changkyun immediately recognized Wonho's handwriting from the drawings they had pored over for hours while working on his machine, the familiarity of it serving as an anchor amid the strangeness of his room. The warning message had been scrawled hurriedly and Changkyun's heart sank. The Tiger was on the Kiform plane with them and Jooheon was missing, their family separated again and plunged into a ritual they knew next to nothing about.

"Dammit!" he shouted to the empty room, hating the way his frustration echoed off the walls.

He stuffed Wonho's letter into his back pocket and moved on to the second page, the one addressed to his Pillar.

 

_ Trial six finds the Mirror _

_ At another crossroad _

_ When knowledge is power, _

_ What do you know? _

 

_ The Pillars around you _

_ A circle of seven _

_ Needs a new kind of truth _

_ For each of their brethren. _

 

_ The Mirror must act _

_ As a pathway to change _

_ Use your gift to observe _

_ So the bonds rearrange. _

 

The riddle calmed him — he was good with puzzles, and the challenge focused his racing thoughts. With a purpose at last, Changkyun walked to sit by the fireplace and reread the stanzas of his Trial. On the side table, a silver mirror lay face up and he peered into its surface. His reflection looked very tired, with a grim mouth and a furrowed brow.

 

_ When knowledge is power, what do you know? _

 

That was an excellent question, one that Changkyun intended to answer.

He thought back to what Shidae had told him when first giving him the Mirror for his Pillar.

_ " You help your friends see in themselves where their strengths lie and how their faults make them human, just like you and me." _

Maybe the truth that he needed to make clear was what their strengths and weaknesses were. Everyone is flawed in some way, but he knew that each of his friends had redeeming qualities that balanced them out. Glancing at the mirror beside him, he decided to start with himself — he had misgivings, but he had to try. If nothing happened, he would have to try something else, but his intuition told him that his Trial needed him to do this.

Picking up the mirror, he flipped it back around before he could lose his nerve. His reflection stared quizzically back at him and he sighed, feeling ridiculous.

"Okay," he said slowly. "I'm...young. And insecure. But I'm smart, and I think — hope — that my friends know they can count on me. I want to carry my Pillar and live up to its standards, and even though I have my doubts, I'm going to try."

Changkyun waited for something to happen, but his reflection stayed the same. He poked at the mirror and frowned, not sure what he was doing wrong.

"I am so out of my depth here," he muttered.

Then, as if on cue, the surface of the mirror rippled and he found himself looking at...

"Kihyun!" he said, surprised. The other boy was pacing through another small room, looking agitated. There was a display of swords and door similar to his own, and Kihyun seemed to be trying to distance himself from both at the same time.

"Kihyun!" He shouted at the mirror, "Can you hear me?"

There was no reaction, and so Changkyun assumed the mirror only gave him a one-way view of the room.

Clutching the mirror tightly, Changkyun found himself speaking to the other boy as if Kihyun could hear him.

"Kihyun, you are so kind. And it scares me how much I love you. Your flaw is that you're too hard on yourself, and that you hide behind your optimism when you're scared. But we love you no matter what — no one can be happy all of the time, and we can support you when you need it. That's your truth."

Not wanting to let go of his glimpse of Kihyun, but knowing that he needed to move on in his Trial, he tenderly swiped his hand across the mirror to move on to what he knew would be another of his friends.

 

\---

 

Changkyun picked up a handful of the coins scattered throughout the room, letting them fall through his fingers and spill onto the floor.

The mirror had shown him each of the other boys, and one by one he had identified their flaws and virtues. Wonho was a perfectionist but didn't hold his friends to the same standard, letting them make mistakes without judgement; Jooheon was impulsive with a quick temper, but fiercely protective of his family; Minhyuk was anxious and a worrier, but only because he was so empathetic towards everyone he met; and Hyungwon was passive and fearful, but resilient and strong despite his fears. But when it was time for him to acknowledge Shownu, the mirror reverted to its original state and he only saw his own reflection — no matter what he tried, he could not summon an image of their leader to complete his Trial. Changkyun knew Shownu's flaw was that he carried blame that did not belong to him, but that his redemption lay in the love that drove his actions. What could he do to show that he understood?

A memory surfaced, from Shownu's flashback during their rescue at the hospital. When the older boy found that he had been too late to save Grandfather, he had burned all of the money they had stolen. Changkyun looked around the room at the stacks of bills that were similarly useless to him. What if his acknowledgement of Shownu's flaws was to repeat the action that had been fueled by the older boy's grief? An action that had ultimately led to his having gone bad?

Remembering the matches he had found when first inspecting the room, Changkyun went to the drawer to retrieve them. He piled some of the bills onto the grate and lit a match, watching the flame for a moment. It seemed fitting that the hearth of this fireplace would signify the Hearth as a Pillar. He hoped he was making the right decision.

Throwing the match on top of the bills, he spoke to the room, "Shownu, if this works... I'm going to make sure everyone knows the truths I've discovered here. We are flawed, but we strive to be more — we are all beautiful in our own way. We have to remember that if we're going to be a clan. We all love you, as a leader and a friend, and we will get through these Trials and every other we may face, just as we always have. Together."

With his final words, the ashes from the fire were swept away into the chimney and a new piece of paper appeared on top of the mirror. Changkyun read the words written there and relief washed over him.

 

_ The Trial of the Mirror has been completed successfully. _


	11. The Hearth

Shownu woke slowly, keeping his eyes closed and his body very still out of habit. Minhyuk often fell asleep with a hand on his chest, and the other boys usually wound up intertwined with him in some way, so he had learned to rouse himself from sleep quietly. He listened for a moment, but couldn't hear any of the gentle snoring or soft rustling of clothing that meant his family was sleeping nearby. Something was wrong.

Sitting up quickly, Shownu blinked to clear the sleep from his eyes. He was...in a forest of some kind? He carefully crouched, ducking to avoid an overhead branch, and shuffled into a small sort of clearing so that he could stand.

It was a room, not a clearing, filled with bushes and trees and washed in a blue light. Shownu found a door on the far side of the room and it couldn’t be opened from the inside, as he had feared. When he turned, he saw a large, white, boxy structure centered in the room. He walked over and discovered that it was a terrarium, and inside…

“Otherworld flowers,” he whispered, reaching in to lightly brush the petals with his fingertips.

Resting against the terrarium were a small bottle and two folded pieces of paper, one bearing his name and the other simply with "the Hearth". Opening the one with his name, he found a letter of warning from Wonho — they were taking place in the Trials and the Tiger was on the Kiform plane with them, masquerading as Jooheon.

The Tiger. A man who had made him fight his friends, watching with pleasure at his inner conflict and disappointed in his victory. They hadn't gotten off on the right foot, and their parting wasn't exactly on friendly terms either — he would have to tread carefully should their paths cross again.

Shownu opened the second letter and found a riddle, presumably his Trial.

 

_ So begins the final Trial _

_ The determining test _ _ — _

_ Will this clan pass to freedom? _

_ Or be lost like the rest? _

 

_ The Hearth at the center _

_ Must discover the truth _

_ So that likeness appears _

_ And emerges renewed. _

 

_ Once purged of this darkness, _

_ Your clan may walk free _

_ With hearts pure once more _

_ And the Trials complete. _

 

He picked up the bottle, holding it up to the light to examine its contents. The liquid was a murky, sickly purple that gave him an undeniable  _ wrong _ feeling, swirling uneasily inside the glass.

But something drew him to the liquid, too — a pull on his energy despite how unnatural it felt. It was exactly the kind of conflict he felt when he had first Gone Bad.

Reviewing the letter again, it seemed that the bottle was related to the Otherworld flowers in the terrarium, but he couldn't bring himself to open the bottle much less poison the purity of the flowers with what it contained.

He must be missing something.

A knock sounded on his door and he whipped around, concealing the small bottle in his hand. Jooheon leaned against the glass, the Tiger's sneer twisting his friend's expression unrecognizably.

"Ah, so my secret is out then," he said when he saw Shownu's glare. "That's too bad — I quite enjoyed pretending to be Jooheon. I think I performed the part admirably, most of the boys were perfectly fooled."

The Tiger clapped his hands delightedly, letting the illusion fall away so that Shownu could see the man for who he really was. Shownu immediately recognized him from their first meeting, the same imposing height and cruel stare. Straightening the cuffs on his impeccable suit jacket, the Tiger looked Shownu over appraisingly.

"How has my fighter been faring in the Trials?" His mock concern sent chills down Shownu's spine.

"Why are you here?" Shownu asked icily. " _ How _ are you here?"

"Why, my Aether blooms, of course — didn't Kihyun share what he found in my warehouse?"

Shownu vaguely remembered Kihyun mentioning discovering strange flowers while working to fuel Wonho's machine. He also remembered the other boy's insistence that there was something off about them, that they made him feel wrong somehow.

_ Like the bottle? _ Shownu wondered.  _ Could they be the same? _

"The purple ones?" He ventured, hoping to confirm his suspicion.

"So he did tell you! Yes, my beautiful blooms are a magnificent shade of violet — did you see them for yourself? Truly extraordinary..."

Shownu shivered, but feigned interest to keep him talking. "And the darts in the clearing? That was you?"

"Yes!" The Tiger beamed, "my Aether blooms are descendants of the Otherworld flowers and they performed brilliantly, initiating the Trials and allowing me to join you on this 'Kiform plane' of yours. An unexpected stroke of luck — the Fates are truly smiling upon me. And now we are here," The Tiger threw his arms wide in a grand gesture. "Stuck. I couldn't have planned it any better."

Shownu felt sick at the prospect of being trapped in the Trials with this twisted man. He had to finish this, but how? A thought nagged at him,  _ Once purged of this darkness, your clan may walk free... _

"So your, uh... Aether blooms. You made them from the Otherworld flowers — "

"You helped, of course," the Tiger interrupted smoothly. "Didn't you wonder about my hospital? Why I chose  _ you _ to be my fighter and champion?"

Shownu's heart sank. "But I...how could I have--"

"My Aether blooms were made possible by you and your Gone Bad blood. Don't you understand? You were the key to my creations! Whatever changed your blood gave me a key to partially unlock the power of the Otherworld flowers, but it was diluted — secondhand, a half-breed, a mere cousin. I have power, Shownu, more than I ever dreamed, but I want more. I  _ need _ more."

The Tiger paused for breath, panting from his feverish speech, and Shownu shivered under his crazed scrutiny.

"You have your Aether blooms," Shownu said levelly, "the power you always wanted, but why do all of this? Why set us up when you said you’ve unlocked..."

" _ Partially _ unlocked, you stupid boy. I have but a shadow of what your clan takes for granted, and I need the real thing. I  _ will _ have the real power running through your unworthy veins if it is the last thing I do. I can easily kill each of your friends, one by one until you are left pathetically alone, or you can tell me how to receive the true power of the Otherworld flowers. It is for you to decide how I will achieve this end, it doesn't matter to me — I will have my answers and the power I desire, and there is nothing you can do to stop me."

Shownu mentally ran through his instructions again, willing the Tiger to keep talking as he frantically tried to piece together their meaning. 

_ Discover the truth, so that likeness appears and emerges renewed. _

"If you kill even one of us, our Clan dissolves," Shownu growled. He actually had no idea if that was true or not, but he had to bluff to buy more time while he tried to finish his Trial. "All of this," he continued, making a sweeping gesture of his hands while casually edging closer to the glass terrarium, a theory quickly forming in his mind, "would have been for nothing." Pretending to be caught up in the moment, Shownu paced in a small circle before spinning back around to face the Tiger. He was only a few steps away now. "You think that you know power? Your Aether blooms can't compare with the Otherworld flowers. The things we can do, the strength we have — "

"Yes, keep going, what strengths? What exactly can you do?" The Tiger's greedy eyes followed Shownu's movements.

"We can communicate with each other without being in the same room. We can feel our energies and channel them through our surroundings. We can feel the energies of everything and our relation to them —”

"Yes, but  _ how _ ?"

"By working together," Shownu said firmly. "Our Pillars support us individually and as a group. The Key, the Ink, the Crown..." Shownu felt the bottle hidden in his hand begin to radiate heat and he knew that his Trial was coming to a close. He smiled and the Tiger's grin faded in confusion. Shownu dropped all pretense and lifted the bottle for the Tiger to see. The cloudy purple was transforming, more and more of pure Otherworld blue swirling to clear the murky color, purging the poison from the bottle as he spoke. "The Coin, the Page, the Mirror..." His voice rang through the room and he strode confidently to the terrarium.

The Tiger screeched and pounded on the glass, "No!"

"...and I am the Hearth!" Shownu shouted. "I am the foundation of our clan, and I though I have failed my family, I will make it right so that I can support them and be the leader they deserve. It is a vow I will never break again, and with this serum," he brandished the bottle, its contents glowing a clear and healthy blue, "I reaffirm my vow to this clan and swear to uphold my Pillar."

With his final words, Shownu uncapped the bottle and poured the purified Otherworld serum over the flowers in the terrarium.

The Tiger screamed, his image flickering as he was similarly purged from the ritual. Shownu turned away until the enraged screaming faded, and when he faced the door again, the Tiger was gone. 


	12. Reunion

Jooheon paced angrily, taking his frustration out on Yuri.

"Does your stupid letter say anything?"

"Not yet," she replied calmly. "As I have said before, I will let you know when — wait, Jooheon, come quickly!"

Joheon ran over to her, watching words appear on the page that he couldn't read. "Well? What does it say?!"

"The Trial of the Hearth has been completed successfully! Your clan has completed their Trials! Shidae!"

Shidae hurried over from where he had been sitting with the other clan elders and Yuri repeated the news.

Shidae beamed, "I knew they would, that  _ you _ would," he said to Jooheon, resting a hand on his shoulder.

Jooheon grinned, relieved that the Trials were over. "So now what?" he asked Shidae. "Do they, um...wake up by themselves, or something?"

Shidae shook his head, laughing. "No, not exactly — traditionally, a messenger from the clans is sent into the ritual to retrieve them. But in this case, I believe that  _ you _ should be the messenger."

"But — "

"I have already spoken to the elders," Shidae interrupted. "It needs to be you."

"But I — "

"It's okay, Jooheon. Really."

"No, Shidae, I'm honored. I think. But I should, um...wait here."

Shidae studied him seriously. "You are afraid."

"I don't know what to say to them," Jooheon admitted. "They've been stuck there, all together, and I've been out here with you guys the whole time."

"Which is one of the many reasons I believe you must be the messenger. They need you, Jooheon. I know you don't want to," he added before Jooheon could protest. "But you must. It has already been decided and the necessary arrangements are in place."

"The Trials just finished," Jooheon said skeptically.

Shidae tapped the side of his nose, "I knew that your clan would pass the Trials as soon as they began. We have planned for you being the messenger for many days now."

Jooheon gulped, realizing just how scared he was to see his friends again.  _ You're being stupid _ , he told himself.  _ They'll be happy to see you...right? _

"Okay, fine," he said aloud. "What do I have to do?"

"It's just like going to sleep. I understand you've done this before? Gone into the Otherworld, I mean?"

"The what?"

"The — ah, that's right. You have been calling it the Kiform plane. I will explain once you are all back together."

_ We're going to be together again _ , Jooheon realized with awe.  _ It's actually happening _ _ — _ _ we're safe now. _

Shidae beckoned him to follow and they walked across the clearing together. Jooheon saw Dongrim and Siyoung, who greeted him warmly.

"We have prepared a dose of serum that will ease your transition," Dongrim said. "Are you ready?"

_ Nope _ . "As ready as I'll ever be. Let's do this."

 

\---

 

Jooheon swayed on his feet, covering his eyes as he adjusted to the Kiform plane. Otherworld. Whatever.

Squinting, he found himself in a blindingly white hallway. It was lined with doors and he guessed that his friends were on the other sides. 

Without warning, a series of clicks sounded from all of the doors and they slowly swung inward, the other boys stepping into the hallway one by one.

Shownu saw him first. "Jooheon!"

Everyone turned to stare at him and he was shocked to be met with glares and uncertainty.

"Uh...hi, guys? The Trials are over, so Shidae sent me to...get you. I guess. It's hard to explain."

Silence.

Shownu stepped forward and gave him a tentative hug, whispering, "It's good to see you, but the others are going to need a minute. Let me talk to them, okay?"

Jooheon hugged Shownu back, "Why are they all staring at me like that? What did I do?"

Shownu held him at arm’s length, a sad smile on his face. "You didn't do anything wrong, Jooheon. Let me handle this."

Turning back around, Shownu raised his voice so that he could be heard by everyone. "I saw the Tiger leave when I completed my Trial. This is  _ our _ Jooheon, and the Tiger is gone for good."

Everyone visibly relaxed. Jooheon remembered Wonho's warning letter and spoke without thinking. "Wait, he was really pretending to be me? But...I don't understand — he looked like me and everything?"

Minhyuk replied, his voice wavering, "Yeah, he was really good, too. I knew something was off, but I fell for it. I'm so sorry, Jooheon — I should have known it wasn't you, I should have  _ known _ ."

Hyungwon hurried to the other boy's side, wrapping his arms around Minhyuk from behind. Hyungwon looked at him with a strange apprehension and Jooheon wondered what exactly happened to make his friends look at him this way. He wasn't sure he wanted to know.

"I'm me," Jooheon pleaded softly. "I swear, I'm not him. Tell you what, I'll prove it."

"Jooheon," Shownu said, "you don't have to — "

"Obviously I do," he replied, hurt making his words sharper than he intended. "Look, I can't stand the way you're all looking at me right now. Kihyun, you're not even looking at all."

Kihyun shuffled his feet in embarrassment, but still kept his eyes lowered. Changkyun linked arms with the other boy protectively, but met Jooheon's stare with a small smile of encouragement. 

"Okay, um...Wonho, we talked through Yuri's letter and she was a pain in the ass. And it's even worse in person." This got a laugh from Wonho and the dawning belief in his eyes gave Jooheon the courage to continue. "Minhyuk, you and Hyungwon are crazy about each other, and sometimes it's so cute that it's nauseating. No offense." Minhyuk stuck his tongue out, but smiled genuinely. "Changkyun, we've known each other forever — since before the orphanage, when I found you in that alley. Remember? We ran all the way to Grandfather's and you helped me read the street signs. And Kihyun is perfect for you because  _ you _ ," he directed his words to Kihyun, who was finally looking at him with red-rimmed eyes, "are the kindest, most patient person I know. Shownu is our leader and kind of a badass. We all have the same birthday, from our time at the orphanage. We're were a family even before we became a clan, and Kihyun I swear if you don't stop crying then I'm going to start."

Laughter swept through the hallway and Jooheon drooped in relief. "Now, can we  _ please _ get out of here?"

A chorus of cheers met his words and he grinned. He turned towards the end of the hallway and felt the others fall into step behind him. They walked past the open doors, the overhead lights growing brighter until the glare turned everything white...

 

\---

 

Jooheon came back to himself where he had laid down in the clearing and jumped to his feet, hurrying to the tent where the others should be waking up.

Bursting through the flaps, he saw his friends milling around, some shaky on their feet from being on the Kiform plane for so long.

When Kihyun caught sight of him, the other boy hurried over and launched into his arms.

"I missed you, too," Jooheon laughed softly, returning the embrace.

One by one, Jooheon was greeted by his friends, each person raising his spirits a little bit more. Hyungwon was the last of the group, and even though he wasn't really a hug person, he enveloped Jooheon in a tight hug.

"It's good to see you," Hyungwon whispered, his voice catching.

"It's good to see you, too," Jooheon replied, surprised by the affection. Drawing back, he asked, "Are you okay?"

"I will be," the other boy said softly. "We're okay, which is enough for now."

Jooheon nodded, not sure what to say.

Hyungwon gave him another sad smile before returning to a waiting Minhyuk. They held hands and Jooheon suppressed his laughter. They really could be nauseating sometimes, but he was too glad to have them back for him to mind.

Shidae came into the tent, Yuri following close behind. Jooheon saw Wonho's initial reaction and carefully kept a neutral expression. He hadn't gotten a chance to warn the other boy — Yuri was very, very pretty.

Shidae cleared his throat, "I'm glad you're all back safe and sound, but I hope the rest of your reunion can wait. We'll be leaving soon, but first...we have some catching up to do." Gesturing outside, Shidae smiled in that mysterious way of his. "Shall we?"

 

\---

 

Jooheon and the others milled around the clearing while Shidae went to find the clan elders, the other boys staring in wonder at the camp’s Sentinel.

Jooheon tried to explain, “It’s how they found us — the one by Shidae’s house picked up our signal, or something like that. I don’t really get it either.”

“Well,” Changkyun said slowly, “‘Sentinel’ is a lot easier to say than ‘that blue glowy thing’.”

Their laughter was interrupted by Shidae, “Shownu, may I have a word?”

Shownu nodded and followed Shidae to the other side of the clearing, and the rest of the boys broke into smaller groups.  Wonho had gravitated to Yuri and they were talking quietly, Hyungwon and Minhyuk were inseparable as usual, Kihyun and Changkyun were sitting together, and Jooheon was standing... by himself.

He still didn't know what to say to everyone. He was dying to hear about the Trials — what they were like, what their Trials were and how they passed them — but instead of socializing he just stood out of the way uncomfortably.

_ This is stupid _ , he thought bitterly.

Shownu walked over, looking at him critically. "Brooding doesn't suit you, you know." There was teasing in his voice but worry on his face, and he bumped Jooheon's shoulder gently. "You okay?"

"I wish you'd stop asking that," he replied, only half joking. "It's my line right now, considering you guys just went through the Trials."

" _ We _ went through the Trials," Shownu said with a frown. "All of us. And I'm sure it was hard being out here by yourself."

Huh. He hadn't thought of it that way. 

Shidae finally returned, the clan elders in tow, and everyone settled onto the grass. Jooheon noticed that they had fallen into the same circle as when they first went through the Kiform ritual and the familiarity comforted him.

"This is Donghyun and Hyorin, clan elders to two of the mountain clans."

"How many are there?" Changkyun asked, immediately blushing at his boldness.

"Seven," Yuri answered from her place by the elders.

Soft murmuring broke out from the circle — the idea that there were so many people who had shared their experiences was staggering, and Jooheon realized just how isolated from the rest of the world they had all felt.

"It will take some getting used to," Shidae said soothingly, "but everyone is eager to meet you. It’s not every day that we get to welcome a new clan to our ranks.” His eyes sparkled and he looked at each boy in turn. 

"Well?" Shidae finally said, "Are you ready to meet them?"

Everyone nodded their general assent and Shidae beamed. Jooheon was nervous, but excited, too. What would the mountain clans be like? And how would they fit in with them?

A thousand questions buzzed through his mind, but he pushed them aside — they would be answered in due time. Until then, his family was finally whole again. They would make it work, just like they always had.

Shownu helped him to his feet and, as a clan, they followed Shidae across the clearing and to their new life. Together.


	13. Epilogue

_ Seven boys stepped into the Otherworld to find their place in a new family. They reached for remembered bowls of paint and then each other, making new streaks and patterns that were different but very much the same. Light danced, hearts smiled, and in the haze they found welcome and love from those new and old. There were faces and names, but all that mattered was the undercurrent of energy _ _ — _ _ a whisper above the storm in a celebration of life. _

_ When seven boys began their journey, they were each lost in their own way. But they fought to be found and proved to themselves and to the world that they were beautiful. They are family, they are friends, but above it all...they are the X-Clan. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that concludes the X-Clan!  
> A huge thank you to masonjar88 for making this series possible through your patience and editing wizardry, and thanks to all of you for reading, commenting, and sticking with me as I slowly unraveled these MVs—it's been a ride.  
> <3


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